The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis

A short read, The Hundred Penny Box relates the story of Michael, whose Aunt Dew has come to live with him. Michael loved to count the pennies in Aunt Dew's box. Each year has its own story when Aunt Dew can remember to tell it.

This is a wonderful Read Aloud to celebrate Presidents' Day when we honor Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, whose image is on the penny. After the Read Aloud, students can visit the library and bring back to the classroom books about the life of Abraham Lincoln.

Students research a date in the life of Abraham Lincoln, record the year on their penny, and relate biographical information about our 16th President. This is a wonderful way to practice punctuating dates properly.

Here is the rule for using the comma when writing a date: CCSS: ELA-Literacy.L.1.2.C

The date can be written as follows.

February 12, 1809
12 February 1809
February 1809
February, 1809

If you begin a sentence with the date, you have a choice because it is optional whether or not to use a comma after one introduces a sentence. Typically, if the prepositional phrase is long, it is followed by a comma. If short, you do not need one, but it is not incorrect to use one.

Both sentences below are correct.

On February 12, 1809 Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Kentucky.
On February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Kentucky.